


the rabbit jumps over the moon, the tiger follows behind

by sunshinelou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Police & Yakuza, Angst, Assassins & Hitmen, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Blow Jobs, Bodyguard, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Friend, F/F, F/M, Female Kuroo Tetsurou, Female Oikawa Tooru, Fist Fights, Funny, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Hacking, Hand Jobs, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Little Shit, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sex, Students, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Yakuza, at least my friend said it was funny idk, female kyoutani kentarou, iwaizumi is a hot millionaire, kuroo tetsurou is a slut, kyoutani kentarou is a slut too, smart oikawa tooru, tooru is a up-n-coming vet, very good 10 stars'
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:11:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26120161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinelou/pseuds/sunshinelou
Summary: “Promise you’ll come whenever I call?”“I’m your knight, dummy. Of course I’ll come when you call.”.Oikawa Tooru finds herself dressed up in skimpy red lingerie on four-year anniversary with her boyfriend, only to end the night balling her eyes out, consoled by a virtual stranger.She has known no peace since then.Instead she’s got stalkers, flirty friends, and instead of a of a knight, she gets a super hot boy turned billionaire from her past and... shootouts?.Or where Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime were childhood friends reuniting fifteen years later, almost unrecognizable to each other but two magnets always set find each other
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kuroo Tetsurou/Kyoutani Kentarou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, everything after dis is minor, pls i know this pairing is so random
Comments: 11
Kudos: 71





	1. in which the rabbit gets cheated on and meets the side chick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh come on. Tooru’s brain said. What man doesn’t like a bad bitch in lingerie? 
> 
> “True, true.” She muttered to herself. “You’re a bad…” Tooru’s voice dropped to a whisper, rushing out the swear word, “bitch. The e bad bitch.” Tooru closed her eyes and cleared her throat after the curse words were done. She opens them, brown eyes staring back at her in the mirror. “The woman in red. You got this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo-hoo! another mulit-fic posted! some thangs to note:
> 
> -main pair is hetero relationship (oikawa/iwaizumi)  
> -second pair are lesbian rairpair (kuroo/kyoutani- just got with it)  
> -i'm using the yakuza organization but a lot of the rules I will have made up myself  
> -this is looking like 21 chapters rn, 22 as the epilogue. 16 of those chapters are full written. this looks like it'll be finished by the end of the year)
> 
> okay, that is all!

“See you later Tetsu-chan!” Oikawa Tooru yells from the front of the empty library as she packed all her stuff into her bag. The lean coworker she called out to peers from the historical fiction section, a look of mischief on her face. _No. Pack faster, leave-_

“Go ahead, Oikawa-kun. You’ve been thinking about your man _all_ day you could barely get any work done. You excited for him to fuck your brains right outta-?“

Tooru’s face heats up like hell but she puffs out her chest, flipping her dramatically as she narrows her eyes with Tetsurou. That sheming little cat. Always putting her nose where it doesn’t belong.

“Oh shush! If you _must_ know it isn’t all about the… sex. This will be our four _year anniversary._ It’s serious! I… think he’s it for me.” Tooru says, smiling at the thought. This morning, her partner had woken her up with breakfast in bed, a matching bracelet and earring set and a very _steamy_ cotius.

Tetsurou smiles too, coming over and wrapping an arm around Tooru’s shoulder. “I’m happy for ya, girly. You tell him exactly what you told me, put on that lingerie and with an ass like that, “ She makes her point by slapping Tooru’s butt, which the brunette squealed at, “there’s no way he’ll ever let you go.”

Tooru grumbles, blush high on her cheeks. “Okay, _pervert._ I’ll see you later?” She asked and Tetsu nodded, shooing me off. “ _Janne~”_

**-$-**

Once she gets home, Tooru checks the time. _18:54._ She knew Joey didn’t get off of work till eight so Tooru had some time to get dolled up.

She first takes a bath, using the soap he said was his favorite. _Cashmere and vanilla_ . Tooru shaved down and lotion herself head to toe. Which was a great feet in itself. _He better worship me._ She thinks flippantly when she notices there is even _one_ cut, not a _single_ hair she missed. _Seriously. Worship. Me_

Tooru kept the makeup light, knowing that it would get all over the place. With Joey and her always working and she being the one to prepare for her finals while her man keeps the house clean, sex was always put off. Tooru planned to go a _couple_ of rounds to make up for lost time. And there’s no use wasting makeup that’ll come off anyway. 

After, she digs out one of the bags from her recent… _sexy_ purchases. Along with the sports’ bra and perfume set, there lay the one piece (if you can call it that), which left very little to the imagination. The embroidered flowers covered Tooru’s bust, front of her stomach and privates while the rest was covered by an ultra sheer, transparent fabric, even her butt wasn’t covered. This was also accompanied by pantyhose and shoes. The whole thing was red, being that Joey’s favorite color was red. 

After spending fifteen or so minutes trying to get into the damn thing, Tooru stood in front of the mirror, examining it. Like the salesgirl said, the outfit would be snug, pushing out all his curves. Tooru always felt a little self conscious, being that she was pretty tall for a girl. Although Joey has seen all Tooru before, in her entirety, she almost felt shy. The two didn’t tend to do anything crazy like this sex-wise. What if he didn’t like it? What if he thought it was too much?

_Oh come on._ Tooru’s brain said. _What man doesn’t like a bad bitch in lingerie?_

“True, true.” She muttered to herself. “You’re a bad…” Tooru’s voice dropped to a whisper, rushing out the swear word, “bitch. _The_ e bad bitch.” Tooru closed her eyes and cleared her throat after the curse words were done. She opens them, brown eyes staring back at her in the mirror. “The woman in red. You _got_ this.”

Just then, Tooru could hear the sound of keys clicking softly. She looks to see the clock. _8:08._ She squeals, rushing back to dim the lights, the orange candles give a warm light to the room. She then gently sets herself on the bed, smoothing out the duvet and laying on it, posing.

“No.” She huffs, laying flat on her stomach, legs up and crossed. She sighs, annoyed. _Nooo.”_ She whines, sitting up straight and pouting. Finally, she goes for posing on her knees, right in the middle of the bed, facing the door. Tooru waits patiently as she can hear his shoes click against the floor. He always came in the house quietly because he never wanted to wake Tooru up if she were asleep. _He’s so thoughtful_. 

Suddenly, the door opened quickly, revealing a woman with buzz cut blonde hair and a thick, beige fur coat over her. “Hey _baby_ .” She yells. She has one hand on the doorknob as she raises the other one over her head, a bag in her hand that reads _Meow Mochi_ Cakes. She still only for a moment, then dramatically slurps her sucker out of her mouth, her tongue blue. Tooru screams, nearly throwing herself off the bed. 

“What the...?” Tooru questions as she scrambles for a blanket to cover herself.

The fake blonde fully steps into the room, turning on the lights. Her eyes are wide as she fully steps into the room, looking around and blinking a couple of times. “Uh… did Joey fucking hire you or something? That’s kind of hot I guess” She questioned, lighting up with excitement even though her words were harsh. But by her voice–Tooru genuinely couldn’t tell if she was squealing or _grunting–_ and her stomping back and forth on her heels, she seemed pleased. “Damn, I knew he was a freak but I’d never guess a threesome-” Tooru’s eyes must’ve bugged out of her head when she said that. What did-? How the _\- threesome??_

“What? A three- what are you talking about? Who _are_ you?” Tooru asked, pulling the blanket around her tighter as the girl stared Tooru down. Tooru’s heart was racing, not because she was afraid. But more so scared of what the girl was gonna say _next._ All her feelings were caught between pure confusion and intense anger. 

The girl smirk turns into a puzzled smile. Or grimace. Or scowl, geez this girl’s face was intense. “I’m Kyoutani. Joey’s girlfriend. Nice to meet and hopefully fuck you. You are?” She asked sweetly, her mouth forming a razor sharp smile.

Tooru looks Kyoutani dead in her eye and blinks. Once, twice, then bust out laughing.

“You’re what?!” Tooru yells, standing up on the bed, post-laugh, and the girl, who is slightly shorter than Tooru and _gorgeous_ up close, winces. “You think you’re his girlfriend? What do you mean his _girlfriend_?”

She, surprisingly, doesn’t seem at all phased. If anything, she seems grins, razor sharp and _mean._ “Honey, I don’t _think._ ” She grumbles and Tooru pulls away from her, a little fearful about what the bottle blonde would do next. She looked like a mag dog. Tooru looked at her hooded eyes, rimmed with black liner. There was also a brown line through and on the sides of her head, showing off her true hair color. She was… a _true bad bitch._

“I am,” Kyoutani continues. “It’s our two year anniversary…” She _blushes,_ scowl on her face, “or close to it ... whatever and it’s in about a week but I came to surprise him.” She opens her coat and Tooru nearly passes out. Lingerie. Pantyhose. _Red._ Tooru stares at her outfit, so hard she felt like she could burn holes through them. It even has little flowers on them.

“You like?” She asks with a sharp grin, doing a little spin, the large and fancy coat flaring around her. If she wasn’t so sweet and gorgeous Tooru would think she was mocking _her_ . Tooru kind of still felt like she was mocking her. And Tooru _felt like_ jumping up and pulling her hair out. But she didn’t.

You know what she did instead?

Tooru starts balling her eyes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short and sweet! also tooru not swearing/being nerdy is HEADCANON but I also think it could be canon like??? And Kyoutani being spicy and bratty is def headcanon like??? lmk what you think <3


	2. in which rabbit befriends the side chick and her best friend meets the side chick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tetsurou,” Tooru mutters. 
> 
> “I could see it now. I will like that one woman in that movie. I will fuck his shit up. I will set his closet on fire. Where the chainsaw is because I’m ready to cut everything in half.”
> 
> Kyoutani smiles dreamily at her, head sitting in her folded hands. “I like her. My kind of woman.” She sighs and Tooru gags at the sight. If this was a cartoon, Kyoutani’s eyes turned to hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Double update for the new work!

She doesn't know how long she cried or how long Kyoutani hugged her--and by hugging it was more of an awkward holding. Kyoutani apologizes. Well, tries to at least because she isn’t really the comforting type. And she also mentions that she’s too pissed to comfort Tooru. She actually tells Tooru to stop being a bitch (can you  _ believe that _ ?) And Tooru just cries harder and Kyoutani stays quiet after that. And when Tooru was done her face felt warm, eyes swollen and she felt a pounding headache set in. Her makeup was all gone and she didn’t even have sex yet.

“How could I have not seen this?” Tooru whispers as she holds the sides of her head, her thoughts racing. “He doesn’t have any pictures of us around the house because you guys come here to… have sex. Some Days he didn’t come home because it’s ‘guy’s night.’ But he doesn’t really have that many people he considers friends.” Tooru rants, feeling Kyoutani rubbed her back. The blonde was good at that, her small hands would run from top to the small of Tooru’s back or she would rack her nails gently, all of this incredibly soothing to Tooru.

“I’ve been with that… penishead for  _ four years.  _ Which means he’s been cheating on me for two years. Two years!” Tooru cries out into the air. She had blown out all the candles. Kyoutani and Tooru sitting on the edge of Tooru and that…  _ cheater’s  _ bed while the blonde consoled her. “God, I’m stupid.” Tooru muttered, tears building up again.

She didn’t …  _ do this.  _ She didn’t date because her parents were overprotective and she only did flings but they never lasted long because all her partners tell her she’s too obsessed with volleyball and condescending and full of herself and  _ you’re seriously into aliens? Really that’s weird _ and she doesn’t just  _ have sex with  _ anyone like how  _ could  _ he-

“Hey,” Kyoutani pokes her chin, her eyes dark but playful. “This is not your fault, Tooru.” Kyoutani looks at Tooru with pursed lips and a determined look and  _ wow.  _ She’s really pretty. Her blonde hair was flashy and cut down, showing off the sides of her sharp jaw. She had hazelnut eyes, warmer than Tooru’s and a cute nose that was pierced with a silver hoop. Her skin was tan, with tattoos up and down her arms, on her collarbones _ ouch.  _ she wasn’t exactly short but when you are someone like Tooru, everyone is shorter than you. She had a nice curvy figure too. She looked like… a fairy. A puppy with a real intense glare. 

Standing next to Tooru, they couldn’t be more different, with her pale skin and wispy brown hair curled her cheeks. Thin, tall in stature and no tats, they were as different as it got.  _ Maybe Joey just wanted a taste of everything. _ Tooru rolls her teary eyes at the thought.

“It’s not our fault Joey has to be a little whore and not be faithful. Not only is he a  _ fucking cunt _ , but he’s just lost  _ two  _ of the best things that could’ve happened to him. Now pack some clothes, bitch-” She pressed her lips together when Tooru scowls up at her through teary eyes, “sorry. Tooru uh…” She scratches that back of her neck, and suddenly blushes. “You don't have to uh but... If you’re comfortable or whatever I could care less, you can stay with me for a while till you get everything figured out, alright?” It was the most Kyoutani had talked this whole time. The blonde was very expressive with her face however. Sh was annoyed, then happy, angry then… more angry.

Tooru looks up from her hands and stares up at Kyoutani. “Why are you being so nice to me? I would've thought you'd clawed my eyes out by now,” Tooru says, laughing a bit. “I’ve had my share of Joey’s crazy exes.”

“Honey” Kyoutani starts and Tooru’s cheeks warm. She had a thing for pet names, sue her. “You ain't done nothing. Girls have to… stick together or something.” She says awkwardly, turning to picking up random perfume bottles off of Tooru’s dresser and bringing them to her nose.  _ Decent,  _ her face read.

“Plus, you’re not half bad-”

“What!” Tooru squeaks.

“You’re kind of whiny-”

“Kyo-chan-” Tooru whines. 

“Don’t call me that. And you cry too much-”

“ _ Sorry.  _ We can’t all be a stoic as you! And that’s a  _ nice  _ way to put it.” Tooru huffs, crossing her arms and Kyoutani glares at her.

“But,” Kyoutani bites, “You’re a sweetheart, I guess-”

“Are you sure or not?” Oikawa interrupts with a pout.

“-I can tell.” Kyoutani continues. “And if I’m being honest, you’ve attempted to swear twice tonight and both times you cringed. You couldn’t hurt my feelings if you tried.” Kyoutani says and Tooru blanches at her. Is she-  _ teasing me? _

“Aren’t I your senpai? This is  _ not  _ how-”

“You  _ can’t  _ be older than me-”

“I’m 25!”

“Liar.” Kyoutani accuses.

“I swear it!” Tooru says and Kyoutani purses her lips.

“I’m 23.”

“Ha! Older than you Koukai. Bow down, Mad Dog-chan.” Tooru cheers.

Kyoutani growls and Tooru jumps back. “Don’t  _ call  _ me that. Let’s go.” The blonde commands, patting Tooru’s leg before she pulls the brunnette up.

And so Kyoutani and Tooru begin packing anything she could put in a duffle bag, comfy clothes and casual attire. On the drawer by her bed was a coffee mug that reminded Tooru of Joey, which then set the waterworks. Kyoutani, supportive as  _ ever,  _ tells Tooru to  _ suck it the fuck up sweetheart  _ and begins shit-talking Joey which made Tooru feel less like dirt.

“You know,” Tooru muttered as he stared at a picture of Joey and herself on her phone. Tooru was smiling, laughing loudly as Joey kissed and bit her ear. It was candid, probably taken by Tooru’s mother who insisted on having many pictures of  _ her baby girl and her man.  _ “If anyone would have told me this,  _ this  _ is what would end us, I’d tell them to fudge off. We’ve argued over so many things but cheating? I would never think...” Tooru whispers, more to herself.

Kyoutani simply starts the car, holding Tooru’s thigh and giving it a squeeze. They probably looked ridiculous. An angry looking blonde woman in red stockings and a thick fur coat and a tall woman in a raincoat with the same kind of stockings getting into a little ladybug car. Tooru’s tears turn the red fabric of her pantyhose a darker color. “I didn’t either honey. Just remember, he’s the one fucking missing out.” And with that Kyoutani pulls out of the parking lot, driving into the night.

Tooru glances at the clock on the car’s dashboard.  _ 20:49.  _

  
  


**-$-**

  
  


Tooru wakes up the next more with the hair of Kyoutani’s fur coat all over her face and in her open mouth. Tooru breathes out, blowing the coat away from her and throwing it on the floor. Yesterday, Kyoutani demanded that Tooru not take the couch because Tooru  _ deserves better that’s fucking why _ . The blonde made room on her queen-sized bed and even let Tooru choose what side she wanted to sleep on. 

Tooru came to find that Kyoutani was a  _ huge  _ cuddler when Tooru woke up at four in the morning covered in sweat, her arms wrapped around the brunette, Kyoutani’s legs tangled and her little breaths on the back of Tooru's neck. Tooru was her  _ little spoon _ . 

“Kyoutani, Kyoutani,  _ Mad Dog! _ Please can you let me up?” Tooru whined. Damn, she's heavy as shit. All long arms and legs, this girl. Tooru was surprised with how easily she was willing to let someone in her home, let alone sleep in her bed with her. 

“Shut up and fucking cuddle me.” Kyoutani mumbled, her words vibrating on my skin. 

“I gotta go pee, Mad Dog-chan” Tooru grumbles back, laughing at her while trying to pull Kyoutani arm off of her.

“Pee on me then.” With hesitation.

“Oh God, gross! Here, I'll have you some breakfast?” Tooru compromise. 

At the mention of food, she lifted her head, pushing some of her hair back. Tooru almost jokes that she doesn’t have any hair to do that but bits her tongue “French Toast and sausage?” She asked, eyes hopeful. 

“What an American ass request. Is that what you got in your fridge? And is it beef?”

“Yeah I don't eat pork.” Kyoutani answers, falling back onto the bed. 

“Good. Me either.” Tooru threw the blanket off to the side, sighing as the cold air hit her legs. She looks over as her phone lights up, the long list of messages popping up.

**Tetsurou Baby <3 evil cat (9:09 AM): girl u usually awake by now. The dick must've put u to sleep. **

**Tetsurou Baby <3 evil cat (9:34 AM): aren't u glad I took u off of work today?**

**Tetsurou Baby <3 evil cat (9:35 AM): call me when ur not dead to the world **

She rolls her eyes at the messages, sending Kuroo one back to tell her that Tooru was indeed fine and not dead to the world via sex 

**My World ❤️(20:55 PM): hey babe I'm running home late. I'll be in before ten. I'm sorry**

**My World ❤️(21:12 PM): where are you?**

**My World ❤️(21:52 PM): where are you? I’ve been waiting a whole hour for you. And some of your stuff is gone...**

**My World ❤️(22:04 PM): babe are you okay? Aren't you supposed to be home by now?**

**_MISSED CALL AT 22:12 PM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**_MISSED CALL AT 22:20 PM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**_MISSED CALL AT 22:26 PM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**_MISSED CALL AT 22:31 PM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**My World ❤️ (23:01 PM): I'm really worried now. Why aren't you answering?**

**My World ❤️ (23:06 PM): did I do something wrong? Was it because I'm late?**

**My World ❤️ (23:09 PM): where the fuck are you?!**

**My World ❤️ (23:26 PM): you know what fuck it**

**My World ❤️ (23:26 PM): if you're gonna act like a bitch so be it**

**My World ❤️ (23:26 PM): on OUR FUCKING ANNIVERSARY? Okay**

**My World ❤️ (23:34 PM): who are you with?**

**_MISSED CALL AT 00:02 AM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**_MISSED CALL AT 00:26 AM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**_MISSED CALL AT 00:46 AM FROM My World ❤️_ **

**My World ❤️ (1:08 AM): just tell me if you're okay. Please**

Tooru rolls her eyes, switching off her phone and getting off the bed, making  _ sure  _ her mother-fudging read receipts were on. She then stretches looking over to see Kyoutani checking all her messages too.

“God, he’s pathetic.” She hissed. “He asked me to come over because he was having a rough night.  _ Noooo,  _ you're a phony, bitch boyfriend that got caught! Fuck you shitty Joey, you slutty  _ pig. _ ” She shouts, her eyes darkening, Since yesterday, Kyoutani has remained remarkably calm, listening to Tooru’s random outburst and tears. After the car ride, Tooru went off about four more times yet Kyoutani has always been the one to divert the conversation or make Tooru laugh.

As if sensing Tooru’s shock at Kyoutani’s outburst, the blonde stills her before she breathes out loudly and the smiles at Tooru—again a smile  _ or  _ grimace who knows— before jumping off the bed. She slips on a pale pink robe, much like the walls of her room, and walks out. Just before she’s out of sight, she looks over her shoulder. “Breakfast?” she asked. 

Tooru nods silently, deciding not to comment on her outburst.

**-$-**

As the coffee brews, Tetsurou face lights up for a FaceTime, which Tooru accepted. 

“And she wakes! I thought-  _ oh wow _ . I know the sex was good but… you literally look like a plush toy. Your face is all swollen.” She looks away from the screen and Tooru could hear her car running in the background . 

“That's because there was no sex.” At that, Tetsurou’s head jerked as she slammed on the brakes. A car horn blares behind her and she rolls down her window, screaming a  _ kindly fuck off _ before driving.

“ _ Nani? Porque?  _ What do mean no sex? You know how hard it was getting you to buy that outfit? You know how much  _ money  _ that was? I bought those candles! Oh wait, wait, wait, hold up.” She frowns for a moment, then smiles brightly. “Did you get… head? Did you do that ‘I’m just gonna cater to my girl and not worry about me’ because also what’s up.” Tooru declines the notation and Tetsurou shouts again. 

“Okay something,  _ something is _ happening. Something is wrong!” She reaches a stop light, looks at Tooru, then sighs. “Okay, I know that you’re practically a damn near a nun-” Tooru scoffed indignantly while Kyoutani snickers into her eggs.

“I am  _ not  _ a nun! Nuns don’t have sex. Like. At all.”

“That’s why I said damn  _ near _ .” Testurou says, followed by a loud crackle. “You wouldn’t even walk into a sex shop with me.”

“That doesn’t count!”

Tetsurou gives Tooru a bored look, then resuming to look back at the road. “You wouldn’t ride a mechanical bull because it seems ‘dirty and sexual.’ Or when we went to England-”

“Okay okay okay, point proven.” Tooru mutters. “I’m not completely sex helpless I just. I’ll tell you everything. I already texted you the address so come over-”

“Hold up. You’re not even at the house? I was heading over there right now. Did he bust quickly or something?”

“NO!” Tooru yells finally, her face heating up as Kyoutani squeals loudly, her laughter loud and filling the space “Just get over here and close your dang mouth. And when I tell you, you won’t talk. Not once got it?” Tooru asks. Tetsurou shrugs, telling her she can’t promise me a miracle. Tooru hung up on her in response. 

**-$-**

When Tooru opens the door for Tetsurou, she brushes past her friend and into the kitchen. She invites herself into a seat and crosses her arms. “Spill. I got a nail appointment at four and I don’t have time for Joey playing games.” 

“Well hello to you too, beautiful.” Kyoutani says, sipping her tea.

Kyoutani told Tooru earlier that her favorite color was pink but it wasn’t too hard to guess. In her bathroom her shower curtain is pink with a making rug. A lot of the art hanging on her walls is pink. Even her tea is pink; honey, rose and hibiscus mix. It just wasn’t exactly  __ how Kyoutani presents. At least on a physical level. If Tooru was being transparent, Kyoutani looked like a punk. But spending more and more time with her just proved what she truly is: Overly sweet pottymouth who made sex jokes and liked pink.

Tetsurou cuts her eyes at her. “And who are you?” 

Kyoutani stands, her long legs (Again, Tooru was six feet. She realized that Kyoutani wasn’t even that short. Tooru was just  _ tall as shit.)  _ gracefully walking her over to Tetsurou. Her robe slips off her right shoulder slightly and Tetsurou’s eyes immediately glances at it, then back to Kyoutani’s face. Tooru rolls his eyes at the scene.

Earlier, Kyoutani and Tooru took the time to get to know each other. Joey just happens to be the first guy she’s been with. Her history of lovers and relationships have only ever been with women and non-binary folks. Because of Joey she said this was probably a sign she should stay away from cis men. Kyoutani looked pretty intense but overall seemed pretty innocent, but her casual sexual comments say otherwise. Even in the small conversation, she holds a very confident air about her.

Tetsurou on the other hand has done it all.  _ All.  _ She isn’t really the relationship type and she could make anyone that falls for her charm easy. Some days, she played it coy. She sports the oblivious act, getting guys and girls to buy her drinks. But she also can be the rough-housier, dominant and razor sharp. Tooru has seen her down four bottles of beer for twenty dollars. And that laid back vibe is appealing in itself. She is, as she puts it, “versatile for her audience.” 

Kyoutani takes her hand, kissing the back of her hand. She kisses up Tetsurou’s fingers. “I’m Kentarou Kyoutani,” She says softly, licking her lips, “presumably Joey’s fucking girlfriend but now identified as the side chick for two years. And you?” 

Tetsurou nods, as if in a trace but then her eyes widen. She snatches her hand away. She looks at Tooru, eyes still wide. “You got like four in a half seconds to explain otherwise I’m gonna hit her.”

Tooru sighs, standing in between them, pleading on Kyoutani’s behalf that this isn’t her fault. Tetsurou had a funny way of being over protective. It usually included violence but it was that thought that counted. Tooru explains the story quickly, only choking up a bit, but swallows and pushes through the end.

When Tooru finished, Kyoutani looked bored and annoyed to hear the retelling and Tetsurou looked heated. She calls up the nail shop and rescheduled for three people tomorrow midday. She sets her phone on the table and all is silent. It was better, Tooru learned, for Tetsurou to be mouthy. A silent Tetsurou was a very destructive one. Tooru again has watched her in action, seen her key cars, slash tires, destroy a corner store all while smiling and not blinking an eye.

“I’m so mad that I’m stressed. This seems like a fucking drama or soap opera.” She swears. Kyoutani reaches over, caressing her arm. 

“I can easily relieve that stress. I got my calming oils, incense, my mouth…” She lists, looking thoughtful. Tooru side eyed her. She wasn’t even this nice to Tooru and  _ she _ was one having the bad day 

Tetsurou snatches her arm away, blushing. “ _ Anyway,  _ what are y’all gonna do about it? Because if you guys don’t do something, I can go talk to him-”

Tooru smacks her teeth at Tetsu. “You know you are not just going to talk to him all calm like that”

“Damn right!” She says and stands from her seat. “I’ll talk to him while his car’s on fire. Preferably with him inside of it. I could watch him roast like a turkey dinner.” She snapped, tapping her foot up and down.

“Tetsurou,” Tooru mutters. 

“I could see it now. I will like that one woman in that movie. I will fuck his shit up. I will set his closet on  _ fire.  _ Where the chainsaw is because I’m ready to cut  _ everything  _ in half.”

Kyoutani smiles dreamily at her, head sitting in her folded hands. “I like her. My kind of woman.” She sighs and Tooru gags at the sight. If this was a cartoon, Kyoutani’s eyes turned to hearts.

“Tetsurou,” Tooru breathes in loudly, “I think I’m okay. Yeah it hurts and I’ve wasted four years but I have you and I’ve got a new friend,” Tooru pauses and gives Kyoutani a thankful look. The blonde opens her mouth and fake gags. “Or maybe I just got a mean dog!” She pouts and Kyoutani throws a spoon at her. Tooru pulls down her eye and sticks out her tongue. Tetsurou looks on, unimpressed by the immaturity 

“Anyway. I’ll be okay. I think Kyoutani and I are gonna talk to him and if he says anything stupid  _ then  _ you can fudge up his car.” Tooru says to appease Tetsurou. She’s always been envious towards the fact that he has her dream car; some sports car from Jaguar. Wasn’t Tooru's favorite type of car. But Tetsurou would probably steal it and ride it out before jacking it up. 

Tooru starts to speak when my phone goes off. Tooru picks it up as she sees the picture of herself and her mother. She grimaces but sighs and clicks on the green symbol. “Hi Ma.” Tooru greets. 

“Okaa-san!” Tetsurou yells and Tooru puts the phone on speaker.

“Hey Tooru dear! Is that Tetsurou I hear? Hey Tetsu baby, I’ve missed you!” The water could be heard running from the background and cutting as well. Tooru assumed she was cooking something. “How’s the anniversary weekend going?”

Tooru pauses, debating on what she should say next. She didn’t really feel like going through what happened again. Knowing her mom, she’ll throw a fit. That’s why her mother and Tetsurou get along so much. They are as petty as they come and Tooru’s Pa can barely handle them in a room together. 

Tooru decides it was best to tell her later. “I’m all good mama. We had dinner and it was a lovely time. Oh! That reminds me; have you talked to Mina from the book club-?” But my mom's wasn’t having any of that.

“Now child, don’t keep all the details from ya momma!  _ Tell _ me that little white boy finally proposed. I’m ready for some grandbabies! You know maybe-”

At the mention of marriage,  _ kids _ , Tooru’s eyes well up with tears and she lets out a choked sob. Tooru always hated how she cried. Her throat closes up and she can’t talk, and it sounds like Tooru swallowed too much water as she cried 

Tooru’s mother quickly stops speaking. “ _ Baybee _ what’s wrong?” She asked, drawing out the word. 

“He cheated on me mama!” Tooru screams into the phone. “He cheated on me mama for two years and I loved that man! I love that man! He c-cheated with another beautiful girl and I have n-no idea what t-to do m-mama.” Tooru sobs, falling on the floor.

The phone was silent besides the slamming of what Tooru could assume to be kitchen cabinets.

“You mean,” My mom started, then cleared her throat. Probably hearing the shrill tone in her voice. “To tell me that little devil  _ cheated on you!?  _ OH HELL-”

“Love, quit all that hollering!” Tooru could hear her father faintly.

Then Tooru could hear the slapping of my mother’s sandals. Meaning she was stomping her way to her dad. “Shut up Danny. You hear that? This your only daughter crying on my phone because that, that punk little bitch-” Tetsurou gasps and even Tooru was shocked. Tooru’s mom hated cussing just like she did. “Cheated on our daughter!” Footsteps can be heard slapping down on the stairs after that, getting louder as it got to where Tooru’s momma was standing. Then Tooru heard her dad grunt, muttering curse words quickly.

“He what? Tooru, I told you if he hurt you I’d shoot him where the sun doesn't-” Tooru whines at his voice, not knowing what to say. She couldn’t even hear him clearly, getting overwhelmed by all of the commotion around her. Before he could finish, Tetsurou grabs the phone from Tooru

“Okay, okay pops this is Tetsurou!” She said in an overly cheery voice.

“Tetsu? Is this a joke? Give the phone-”

“No it’s not. He seriously cheated on Tooru. However we’ll figure it out! I don’t want you getting more grey hairs than you do and high blood pressure. I got this.”

“I  _ do not  _ have grey hairs-!”   
  


“Bye pops, bye moms I love you.” And she hung up the phone.

There was silence in the room before Kyoutani clapped her hands, chuckling a bit. 

“Okay, your parents are  _ kind of  _ hilarious.” 

Tooru facepalms, shaking his head. “That was so embarrassing.” She laughs, wiping her tears away. “I feel like such a little kid crying this much.” 

“Well I have a bunch of disney movies and I need some friends to get hooked on these new Netflix animes I’m watching.” Kyoutani explains, taking her laptop out of her backpack that laid on the chair. 

“I’m so down for that.” Tetsurou nods, pulling her disheveled black hair back behind her ear. “And I can go get some ice cream from the corner store. Whatcha think, Ru?”

Tooru gives a teary laugh, looking over Kyoutani’s shoulder to her Netflix homepage. “Let’s watch  _ One Punch Man _ first, yeah?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd you like it?? Also since my writings are proof-read only by me, lmk if you spot some mistakes so i can fix em! Lmk in the comments and sending me some kudos~~ author-san


	3. in which the rabbit saves the tiger’s lil girl and talks to mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uncle Hajime!” Aiko exclaims, running into the man’s arms. He takes her, spinning her about. And just like Issei, he also delivers a rain of kisses on Tati’s face, which she happily responds to. Tooru on the other hand is struggling to keep her mouth closed. She felt like she was having whiplash, a fever dream or something
> 
> But she couldn’t be mistaken. The kid just called him Hajime. It was him for sure.
> 
> Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi Hajime, Tooru’s childhood best friend was standing there right in front of her and he looked _good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter update! kudos and comments to let me know how you're feeling about the story :)

**Tooru**

After getting their nails done the next day-- Tooru ended up getting a simple manicure because even though she doesn’t play volleyball competitively, the fake nails still felt uncomfortable-- they got out for ramen and talked shit about Joey, all his faults, ugly moments, etc. During the TV fest yesterday, Tooru cried some more, filled with green tea ice cream and so much snot that when she woke up the next day her face felt raw. Today, there were no tears on Tooru’s face and everything hurt a little less. Well not by much but she still put a smile on her face anyway.

She learned today that Kyoutani was an artist. She used to go graffiti in skate parks and metro stations and was forced to do community service when she got caught. She got older and slightly less troublesome, now teaching at a high school as an art teacher and worked at a bakery on the weekends. (Everything she said about herself just didn’t seem real. Imagine getting _milk bread_ from some who looked like Kyoutani, no offense). She was the oldest out of four kids and her parents were apparent good-for-nothings that left her to take care of her three little sisters. She was a Sagittarius and is going to be 24 in December. 

“You know Tetsurou,” Kyoutani says, sliding her hand across the table to meet Tetsurou’s, “Sagittarius are ridiculously compatible with uh… Libras?” She says unsurely, running her tongue under her teeth, her tongue piercing glimmering. 

Watching how Kyoutani interacted with Tetsurou showed Tooru how different she was from the blonde. She oozed confidence and was sex appeal in every way possible. Even in the way she ate, the matter of pressing her full pink lips to the spoon, running over the utensil slowly and purposefully. But instead of trashy, it was appealing and endearing. Her voice could be as raspy, but warm and full all the same. She was loud enough, a bit rash sometimes but also was quiet and great at listening. She gave off an intense look but was really sweet. But as soon as she opened her mouth she could easily have you blushing. 

Tooru guessed that’s why Joey chose her as a girlfriend too. Joey always said he loved how “cute” “innocent” Tooru was. He’d embarrass her by always pulling the brunette around and teased her for being as small and light as she was, despite her tall height. And honestly, Tooru loved to tease too, bt she was nowhere near as bold as Kyoutani

Even when Tooru was surrounded by people, entertaining them with her charm, she was into herself and lonely. When Tooru introduced Tetsurou to Joey, he complained about how noisy she was. He questioned how they could be friends because Tooru was so shy and sweet. It made Tooru worried because one could describe her as annoying (and people have--  _ often).  _ Tooru thinks back now, thinks his words are what held her back from doing the things she wanted because he didn’t approve of. Tooru wanted to remain as soft ans sweet as he described her to be. Tooru agreed to not do things like going out to the parties he attended or clubbing with Tetsurou, all to keep Joey with her.

“Oh really?” Tetsurou answered. She smiles sweetly before snatching her hand away. “Good thing I’m Scorpio then.”

Kyoutani pouts. “Aww… well I think we’ll work out just fine. Our chances are still pretty high.”

“In what areas?”

“In love, communication, oh! And definitely in sex.” Kyoutani looks pleased with herself as pink blush takes over Tetsurou’s tan face. 

Tetsurou, Tooru’s best friend since high school, had a  _ mega  _ ego. She was undeniably beautiful and really good with making her makeup bright and dramatic (she also has no acne  _ ever _ . Oh how Tooru envied her). Her skin was golden, about the same height as Tooru and has dark, shitty bedhead hair she dyed every few months. She had shaved her head once and  _ still  _ looked good. If possible, she is always reminding those around her of how much of a proud, independent, Japanese woman she is who can swear in three different languages and down three bottles of beer in two minutes. To see her blushing over that comment? Tooru would have never thought.

Suddenly Kyoutani phones starts vibrating, playing the classic iphone jiggle. She holds up a finger, turning in her chair and lowering her voice. While she talks, Tetsurou’s telling Tooru about the new hire at the library and how cute he is.

“He’s hella cute but  _ guess  _ how tall he is? 5’7! Like what am I… going to do _ with that?”  _ She says with absolute disgust and Tooru gasps, cupping a hand over her mouth.

“Tetsu-chan you can’t  _ say  _ that-”

“Why not?!”

“That’s like-” Tooru giggles. “Like discrimination or-”

“No it isn’t. I need a man who's taller than me! I wanna do the cute little tippy-toe thing when I kiss you. You can’t be like… 5’8 trying to get with me!”

“Well today’s your lucky day because I’m definitely 5’10 and some change. Where’s my kiss?” Kyoutani had turned back around and now had her eyes closed and lips dramatically pursed nearly Tetsurou’s face. 

“You’re definitely  _ not  _ 5’10 and I’m 6 feet  _ shorty.”  _ Tetsurou rolls her eyes, pushing her half eaten meatbun into Kyoutani’s lips. The blonde haired girl spluttered, failing back in her chair and Tetsurou and Tooru laughed.

“You two are just freakishly tall so-” Tetsurou and Tooru both snap their head to Kyoutani, glaring at her. “Okay, okay I give. Just because I have to go but I’ll be back for you.” She winks at Tetsurou as she picks up her bags, tapping her phone rapidly. 

“Where are you headed?”

“Some kids have a sculpture project and decided to all meet up this Saturday to finish it. I told them I’d help them out by finishing it up. You okay on your own, Tooru?” Kyoutani looked up from her phone and at Tooru.

“You can come and stay with me if you want.” Tetsurou offered.

“I’m alright actually. Ma texted me and you know her. You don’t respond and she’ll go off about how you don’t love her, this, that and the third. Imma go give her an explanation and stay over there tonight. And you know their house in walking distance so you ain't gotta worry about me. Oh and thank you for letting me get my nails done, Tetsu-chan.” 

“No problem. You work this Monday. That alright?” Tooru nods and gives her a hug. “I’ll see you then!” Tetsu dramatically grimaces when she gives a side hug to Kyoutani which the girl pouts at. Kyoutani then gives Tooru a kiss on the cheek and promises to see Tooru soon.

Looking at her watch, Tooru sees that it was half past 5. She knew this conversation wasn’t gonna be pleasant. Her father had always liked Joey. When they first started dating, Tooru was 20. A little 2nd year going to a big school like K university as a transfer. It was terrifying but Tooru tried to be nice and keep her chin held high.

The day they met, Joey was pulling a prank and Tooru walked right into it, ending up covered in eggs and flour. He was a grad student and apologized profusely and cleaned Tooru up as she scowled about her ruined hair, snapping that _a guy like you is supposed to b my senpai?_ and after demanding that he pay her back for a new outfit. And he complied. He actually took her to the mall. He also didn’t let Tooru refuse having dinner with him. And they hit it off since then.

He was smart, handsome and already making money at the business he worked at. Two years later he was assistant CEO of some company. Tooru’s father couldn’t be more impressed. His parents like Tooru. Both successful, older American parents were just as beautiful as Joey, they loved the idea of Joey having a good girl as a wife. Tooru would usually stutter and weakly push back on the idea of marriage. But Joey would laugh and wrap his arms around her and Tooru would just melt into him.

Tooru’s mom on the other hand… she never liked him. She had always been wary of new people in her daughter’s life. She was definitely over protective of Tooru for sure. The brunette's older sister was gone and would be in the army for the next couple years. Her mom felt like she already lost one kid, in her eyes she couldn’t help but coddle Tooru. It made sense to her.

She didn’t think Joey was worthy for her daughter. Which was touching and annoying all the same. The two women got into a lot of fights but things finally settled down when it was year three and her mother realized Joey wasn’t going away. The first time she invited him over Tooru almost had a heart attack because before she would never do that. Most of the dinners happened at his parents’ house. 

But now… Tooru’s mom was right. Even if Tooru didn’t want to admit it. And she’s not really in the mood to have her ma rub it in her face. 

Tooru focused on the path before her, getting off the train as she shook her head of those thoughts. Tooru looked at her worn sneakers against the concrete just as she catches a little movement in the corner of my eyes. A little girl has fallen, her stuffed animal tumbling between two cars and into the street. She gasps, immediately going after it. But there was a car coming, too fast for the two-lane street it was in. Tooru’s heart speeds up in fright as she drops her bags, racing over to her. Tooru managed to pull her back but the child dropped her toy. Tooru cursed, stepping forward and pulling her toy back last minute, a faint pain in her bad knee flaring up. The car blares its horn and Tooru sticks out her middle finger. She rolled her eyes, looking down at the little girl.

“Are you okay? Sorry I pulled you like that but uh… there was a car coming.” Tooru explained lamely, dusting off the dirt from the child’s pants. She nods, her big brown eyes slowing filling up with tears. Tooru panics, her eyes widening. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea grabbing a random kid so roughly _. She was probably scared of me. Holy_ _ shit she probably look like a- _

As soon as Tooru begins stuttering out an apology, the child throws herself at the older woman, her arms encasing Tooru’s neck. “T-Thank you so so so much, miss! I was sooooo scared!” She cries, her little arms shaking. Tooru freezes up, not really knowing what to do. She’s never been good with babies, let alone little kids. Kids scared her in a way. They’re so small and fragile. But can be fast and evil little things. Tooru feels like they have a weird intuition in them. And Tooru never had any little siblings to take care of so she doesn’t have the best expertise. And she harder saw her sister's child with how much she traveled.

Tooru lets out the nervous breath she was holding, awkwardly rubbing her face to calm herself down. “You’re alright. And so is your friend!” Tooru offers, hoping that would get the small child to stop crying. She sniffles, looking down at the animal like she just realized it was there.

“H-he is!” She hiccups. “This is Mr. Blue and I’m Aiko! Thank you again!” She says, bowing deeply.

“My name’s Tooru. And you are very welcome.” She says, cooing at the child. “But you have to be very careful. You shouldn’t be in the street alone.” Tooru says, looking at the little girl’s exposed hands for any signs of a stamp and sighs a breath of relief. No marks or scratches either. “Where’s the person you came with?” Tooru asked, pulling both of them up.

She holds her stuffed animal, which was a cat, close to her chest. She looks to her left and right, then behind her. She looks up at Tooru, chin wobbling. “I don’t k-know…” her voice cracking like she was gonna cry again. 

“Hey, hey,  _ hey _ .” Tooru stresses, looking around at the weird looks she was receiving. "It’s okay. We can find them just fine. Have you uh… ever played Marco Polo?” Tooru asked.

“Y-yes.” She sniffled, her nose running. Tooru grabbed a tissue out of her purse, wiping it for her. She mumbled a weak  _ thank you _ . 

“Good! And who did you come with?”

“I come with Uncle Matsu and Uncle Hajime.”

“Okay.” Tooru says, standing at her full height. “You're gonna get on my back and you’re gonna call out Uncle Matsu name and I’ll call Uncle Hajime, okay? And they’re gonna hopefully answer back, yeah?” She nods. Tooru pulls her up from her underarms, resting her on her sure shoulders. She rested her stuffed animal between her legs and Tooru could feel its fur on the back of her head. The woman then puts one hand on the small girl’s jean covered knees to keep her steady and the other to hold her bags. Tooru hoped this would work, knowing that she was tall enough so Aiko would be able to be seen in this crowd if she’s on top of Tooru’s shoulders.

“Are you ready?”

“Uncle Matsu!” She yells, cupping her mouth with her hands while tucking Mr. Blue under her arm. 

“Uncle Hajime!” Tooru responds back, walking in the direction Tooru first saw her coming from. 

They continue to keep at this for more than 15 minutes. It was a big area. Around was a large park and shopping mall. Osaka was the third most populated city in Japan. Bright lights similar to Tokyo and Yokohama, it was easy for anyone to get lost.

It was also the second most dangerous for human trafficking, rivaling Tokyo. People of all ages were kidnapped, not to be seen or heard ever again. Even as old and cautious as Tooru was, being that he’s been in Osaka for school for nearly seven years now, it still worried her. Especially when the targets were young girls, even as young as Aiko.

Luckily it hasn’t gotten completely dark yet. People who walked past them and looked either annoyed or startled but Tooru paid them no mind. When Tooru noticed Aiko’s voice getting strained Tooru suggested that maybe they should go to the police station together. To Tooru’s surprise, Aiko was quick to shoot her down and asked Tooru to keep yelling with her. The brunette complied.

Suddenly a deep and loud voice cut me off. “Aiko! Where are you?!”

Aiko would’ve jumped off Tooru’s shoulders if it wasn’t for the older’s hand holding her down. “Uncle Issei!” She yelled back.

Tooru walked faster, more sure with the new direction, telling Aiko to keep calling out as Tooru tried to follow where the voice was coming from.

“There’s Uncle Issei!” She cheered, pointing to the left of Tooru. Once they were about three or so feet away, Tooru slowly pulled Aiko off and to the ground. Tooru left her to run towards the man and the woman followed slowly behind. Aiko jumps into his arms and he pulls her close, spinning her around. He kissed all over her face and she giggled in response. Tooru’s heart warmed at the sight.

Then his face turned grave. “What have I told you about running off without someone with you? You know how scared sick Uncle Hajime and I were? We thought something happened to you! And you had this random lady going out of her way. What if we didn’t find you?” He said, his face red with anger. Aiko bowed her head.

“She’s alright. She acted like a good girl the whole time. Right Aiko?” Tooru asked, awkwardly ruffling her hair. The man looked up at Tooru from Aiko and  _ well. He was kind of cute _

His skin was warmer than Tooru’s and his face was covered in faint marks,  freckles. His hair was a little messy, black hair and face clear of facial hair. He was slim but definitely had muscles under that shirt. He couldn’t be older than Tooru. He had a boyish, school athlete vibe about him but hearing how he spoke to Aiko he was very mature for his age. 

As if just registering that Tooru was there, their eyes met, his cheeks pinked a bit. He opened his mouth to say something to Tooru but his phone rang. He held up a finger to Tooru before standing to his full height, standing as tall as Tooru.

“Sup, Boss man?” Issei jokes slightly. “Yeah, I got her now. Some random lady-”

“Tooru.” She supplied. It was kind of offending for him to call her that. And it made Tooru sound creepy.  _ Some random lady? hmph! _

“-Tooru,” He said slowly, correcting him. “She found her and we ended up finding each other. Whatcha wanna do next?” He asked.

“You’ll meet us here? We’re on XX Street, on the left corner of the park.” He lists. “ _ Ciao.”  _ He clicks his phone off and back into his pocket.

“My bad...Tooru. Wasn’t right of me to call you some random.” He rubs the back nervously. It was cute to see his shift in personality. He was clearly used to being in authority wherever he went. But he could barely look Tooru in the eye at this moment.

Tooru chuckles a little bit, putting a hand on her hip, leaning upward to ruffle his hair a bit. He looked startled by the contact, reddening a bit more. She pulls her hand back, a little embarrassed by her own actions, “You’re all good Koukai.” Tooru,  _ annoying as fuck per usual when she finds out anyone is younger than her,  _ sticks her tongue out, holding up a peace sign. “Your name is Issei, right?”

“Yeah!” Aiko cheers. “He’s super funny and always takes me out for fun! He’s like…” She counts on her fingers, “...like my third favorite uncle!” 

Issei squawks. “Third?! Whose second? First?”

“Well I don’t know whose second but I’m  _ definitely  _ first.” A man says from behind Issei. 

“Uncle Hajime!” Aiko exclaims, running into the man’s arms. He takes her, spinning her about. And just like Issei, he also delivers a rain of kisses on Tati’s face, which she happily responds to. Tooru on the other hand is struggling to keep her mouth closed. She felt like she was having whiplash, a fever dream or something

But she couldn’t be mistaken. The kid just called him Hajime. It was him for sure.

Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi Hajime, Tooru’s childhood best friend was standing there right in front of her and he looked  _ good. _

He was literally  _ glowing.  _ His skin was just like Issei’s but not,  _ tanner. _ His hair was jet black and spiky and showed off his face.  _ His hot face.  _

The last Tooru saw him they were about twelve or so and she had a crush on him. Her reaction to his jawline currently made it obvious that her crush never faded, at least not completely. He was chewing gum and Tooru zoned in on how his muscles continuously snapping to and fro. His eyes were a bright bronze hazel and he had a small scar over his left eyebrow. Even though it was fall and a bit chilly, he simply wore a shirt that hugged at his forearms deliciously. He was absolutely gorgeous. He stood proudly but was shorter than Issei and Tooru had to stop an evil smile from curling on her face. She could be at least five inches taller than this man, which was a given even a decade ago.

What kind of luck was it for Tooru to save the niece of Hajime?

Tooru snapped out of her creepy observation of the man. He probably could feel Tooru glaring holes into him. Tooru groans in embarrassment at her thoughts. She focused on the hard scowl that has now taken over his face. Did he remember her? Would he? It took Tooru a moment herself but would he realize it was her?

“I swear Aiko. I won’t be able to let you go out with me if this happens again. What if she didn’t find you?” His voice hardened tremendously and Aiko’s eyes widened, nodding her head quickly. Was it wrong of Tooru to find his voice so attractive?

Tooru shakes her head, stepping forward. “Don’t be too hard on her now. She is a good kid.” Tooru says slowly. Both men snapped their heads at Tooru and she had to still herself from flinching back. Together they’re both intimidatingly beautiful. “H-Hello!” Tooru stampers, then clears her throat to cover it up. Under Hajime’s gaze, Tooru tries her best not to squirm.

“I’m Oikawa Tooru. Nice to meet you.” Tooru says, throwing up a peace sign and a smile. She then holds out a fist. They both stare at it like it’s some foreign object. “I’m not too big on handshakes. Ever bump fist before?” Tooru snaps, not liking them  _ really?  _ look the both of them were giving her. Issei is the first to laugh, bumping his fist with the woman’s. Tooru turns her hand to Hajime but his hand goes inside his pocket, retrieving his wallet. 

_ So he doesn’t remember me…  _ A voice wallows in pity but Tooru doesn’t let it show on her face

“Thank you for saving my little girl.” Hajime thanks Tooru, then pulls out a couple of bills. 

Tooru didn’t know what she was more shocked about. The fact that Hajime didn't recognize her or the fact that he was least giving six crisp yen of 10000  _ what the fuck _ . 

“What are you doing?” Tooru asked. “I don’t need any money-”   


“I insist.” He interrupts. “You saved-”

“Aiko just like any good person would do!” Tooru supplied. “I really don’t need it. Seriously.” 

“Do you know who I am-?” Hajime begins but Tooru wants to say  _ Of course I do! It’s you who doesn’t know me.  _ Instead she bits her tongue and cocks her head.

“No?” She says.

Hajime rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I know you want it.” His warm vibe soon turned sour. He acted like Tooru was wasting his time. “Just let me pay you-”

“You know how you can pay me back?” Tooru quips, trying not to turn her face into something mean. Couldn’t this guy take no for an answer? Before Tooru let him respond, Tooru turns and looks at Aiko. “Now listen here Aiko-chan!!” Tooru says in a joking voice. She turns to face Tooru, her chin wobbling a bit. “I want you to be good to your uncles, they care about you a lot. And you know who else does?”

“W-Who?” she asked. Tooru takes her two little hands in her own, smiling. 

“Me, silly! And I’m very happy to make a new friend today, yeah?”

.

.

**Hajime**

“Me silly! And I’m very happy to make a new friend today, yeah?” Hajime watches as the woman- Tooru talks to Aiko. She smiles, her eyes closing up and her head tilting to the side. Hajime could see Aiko’s eyes widen and a blush covering her cheeks. She agreed with Tooru, nodding vigorously. 

Something about seeing another woman interact so well with Aiko made Hajime both uncomfortable and surprised. Aiko was raised by boys, surrounded by older brothers and uncles. Seeing her adapt to a woman so easily, a stranger at that, was weird and relieving at the same time. 

The girl, Tooru, stands, grabbing the few bags at her feet. She flips her hair and cuts her eyes at Hajime, the sweet pretty face turns stronger. “That’s all I  _ want _ . Keep your yen. And I hope to see you soon Aiko!” The harsh voice dissolves back to sugar when she speaks to the young girl. "No running in the streets for you and until you become as tall as me, got it?” She waggles a finger in Aiko’s face, bumping her nose with her finger. Aiko giggles and thanks her again. 

She gives Issei and Hajime a small wave before walking around us and heading down the street. Hajime watches her hips swing until she is all the way out of sight. There was nothing spectacular about her. Maybe her height-- Hajime had to stubbornly add that she was indeed taller than him. She had soft features, he thought. Doey, brown eyes and a button nose. Her lips were pink and large. Her skin was snowy and her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She couldn’t be older than 20. 

_ Just a baby really.  _ Hajime thought. Those hips were alluring sure. But she was childish, even in the fact that she refused the money. A young girl like her has probably only ever seen that once or twice in her life. 

“Oikawa Tooru,” Hajime said aloud, the name eerily familiar as he walked back with Issei who held a sleeping Aiko in his arms. He’s been working for Hajime for about five years now. The older man found Matsu in an alley, bashing the skull of two guys that were two weeks behind on paying him back fifty bucks. He had a bat covered with blood and a boyish smile on his face. When he found out who Hajime was, he begged him for a job. Then followed Hajime around till the former held a gun to the latter’s head and told Matsu to _ fuck off. _ Even then, Matsu didn’t even flinch and dared to smile at Hajime. He's been Hajime’s right hand man and Aiko’s personal bodyguard ever since. 

“I want you to ask Kunimi to look her up. Tell him to get it on my desk by noon tomorrow. Don’t leave anything out about her.” Hajime tells Issei. He’s already pulling his phone out, typing quickly. Because Tooru has come in contact with Hajime and his family, she’ll be under his radar. For the next thirty days, Hajime will have Kunimi pull her up, look through her history, areas she frequents, etc. It wasn’t personal. And this made sure it wouldn’t be. No one Hajime didn’t know was around him, let alone his family.  Ever. 

.

.

**Tooru**

“See? What did I tell you? You brought the blockhead-” Tooru’s mother starts ranting only six minutes since Tooru stepped into the threshold.

“He had a 3.6 gpa-” Tooru retorts dully, filing his nails.

“Who a massive drunk-”

“He only drinks old wine-”

“And a drug lord-”

“That was  _ one  _ time-”

“Why ya defendin’ that idiotic, disgusting womanizer?!” Her mother stops her paces to look Tooru in her face. Her countryside accent thickened a tenfold. “Oh  _ no.  _ Don’t tell me ya plan to get back with that lil’ white boy?” She says with disgust

Tooru’s mother, Yuki, was beautiful. She was a short thing. Tooru literally dwarfed her. She had full, curly hair, little wisps and brown skin. Her eyes were darker than Tooru’s brown ones and she had the whitest teeth Tooru has ever seen. Her mom was from a small city, Hakone, where everyone looked, sounded like her; hardworking, thick accent and brown skin. She loved her food and her culture down there. She loved everything about Hakone. Before Tooru left for uni and moved out, their family went for three months every year. 

It came as a shock to everyone in Yuki’s neighborhood when she brought a tall, lean fancy man from the big city Tokyo to their home. At 20 years old on winter break, Tooru’s mom came home with an engagement ring on her finger and Tooru’s 29 year old father Bao on her arm. Yuki’s older sister screamed and her mom actually fainted. His mother’s father, being an overprotective father he was, grilled him to no end. But as Tooru’s mother always tells her, her father was perfect and they were married six months later. 

Of course they had some hard times. They dated for only a year before they got married. Less than eight months later her dad came home with a bullet hole in his shoulder, ripped-up shirt and trousers and refused to go to hospital. The night Tooru's mom cried as she cleared out the hole with a hole needle and vodka.

It was then that Tooru's father told her mom the truth. He didn’t really work at an insurance firm. He wasn’t going back to school for his Master’s. My dad ran a chain of gun trading between America and Europe. Soon he would have a hold on Chinese imports as well. He was  _ yakuza affiliated.  _ He handled all the artillery, smuggled the goods without a whisper of his name. He’s been doing this with his father since he was fifteen. His father passed a while ago and he’s been the ring leader since. He had planned to tell Tooru’s mother, but she had fallen pregnant already. He didn’t want to stress her out. He gave Yuki the option to leave him then. He’d offer protection for both her and her family for as long as possible. He would visit their child, the works.

But Tooru’s mother stayed. Yuki told Bao,  _ You must be outchea mind if ya think ya goddamn leavin’ mae, gods be damned. _ Tooru’s father sat her mom down to tell her how this wouldn’t be a regular life for her. They had to be careful. Tooru's dad would always say that he was strong, but he was no superhuman. Of course Tooru’s dad got shot some more, her parents argued and many times her mother fled with Tooru’s sister in tears to her parents’ house.

Relations got tense as drug cartels were on the rise in the early 2000s. When the drugs began to reach political officials, there was a police crackdown. And drug policing meant gun policing. My dad was walking a fine line. Tooru’s sister was born in 1989 and then five years later she fell pregnant with Tooru. When Bao found out Yuki was having another child, he had to step down.

Slowly but surely he began to let his ties go with the worldwide organization he built on. He stopped moving his family between cities in Japan, once in Europe and another time in America before they finally settled in Osaka when Tooru was about ten and her sister was 14 going on 15. When they got our first home, he officially resigned. Now he only ever flies to Shanghai to check in with his  _ Qiāng jiāzú,  _ meaning _ gun family  _ in Chinese.

Yuki could finally relax. She had the family she always wanted. All safe and by her side.

Until Tooru’s sister decided to go to the army. 

Tooru never saw her mother cry. Or yell for that matter. Tooru’s sister said she did it a lot when they were young. But seeing her mom, frazzled hair, pounding her fist into her 18 year old sister’s chest, screaming at her, was unreal. Tooru was only thirteen and it was honestly the only time she was ever really  _ scared  _ of her mom.

But Tooru’s sister left despite her protest. His initial plan was to be there for two years. It would allow his tuition to be free as he majored in engineering. However, she ended up getting her bachelors in human ethics and sociology while moving up in the chain of sergeants and generals. she came home for Tooru’s graduation, 23 years old with those gleaming pins on her jacket, _pregnant_ and a proud smile on her face. She served as rescue aid for people escaping war torn cities up until she found she was with child, being granted and honorable release. 

Both of their parents hated it. Her mom detested violence and her father didn’t think serving any country in war was worth his child’s life or time. And even though she was no longer in the army, her having a child with the father out of the picture was the icing on the cake

The world’s morality as a whole was lacking and has been on the decline for a while. Systems were changing, politics was dirty and politicians were even dirtier, getting caught up in scandals and placed in jail more than ever now.  Since the last president won election—you can barely call him a president— It’s more of an oligarchy and he was a figurehead more than anything. When he ‘innocently’ pulled back laws that would ensure the safety of trade for monetary benefits, loosening policies on the black market (aka human trafficking _ )  _ Japan, and neighboring countries that signed and allowed similar documents had officially gone to shit. It isn’t an official law, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening, slow and sure.

With her firstborn gone now traveled the world as she please and with people disappearing, Tooru’s mom had gone insanely strict. More so than Tooru’s father had ever been. Three rejected boyfriends off the bat, stopping Tooru from having a job till she was in college, having Tooru be driven around instead of getting her driver’s license, etc. Tooru’s mom sheltered her to the T. With Joey it was no different. But by 22, Tooru had told her mother she loved him with all her heart and her mother finally raised her white flag in defeat and held her tongue. 

She must be ready to let it  _ all  _ out. 

“Mom,” Tooru stressed. “No one said I’d be getting back with him. I’m done with Joey.”

“Damn right ya are!” She says. “Now where’s ya stuff?”

“I took some over to Kyoutani’s house-”

“Whose Kyoutani?” She interrupts.

“She’s a friend… that’s letting me stay over.” Tooru states. It was probably best to leave out the part that she was the other woman.

“And why have I never heard of this friend? What aren’t you telling me, Haruto?”

_Haruto_ was not Tooru’s middle name or nickname. But it was supposed to be her older brother’s name, a child her mom lost in miscarriage to stress. And Tooru’s mom always called her that when she was being serious. It was a habit she developed and it always made Tooru cringe.

“She’s… the girl Joey was cheating on me with.” Tooru mumbled but by her mother’s gasp she definitely heard it.

“And you ain’t beat her ass?”

“Mama she ain’t  _ know _ .” Tooru signed. “As far as she knew, he was only with her. He’s been cheating on her for two years.”

Tooru’s mom’s eyes bugged out of her head and if Tooru wasn’t so drained she’d probably laugh at her. Her mother paced a bit more, rubbing her forehead and massaging the bridge of her nose. 

“I need a drink.” She mutters, her soft house shoes Tooru got her shuffling against the newly polished floors.

After the third rotation of pour, guzzle and sigh, Tooru’s mom came back into the room with a slightly red tinted face and a somber look on her face. Instead of standing like she once had, she sat beside her daughter. She folded her legs underneath herself and her pulled Tooru in, her hand immediately going to her child’s ponytail holder and freeing her hair. Her mom knew how much Tooru hated her hair on her neck but her mother never listened, insisting that she looked better with it down.

“My little girl,” she kissed her daughter’s forehead lightly as she stroked Tooru’s hair. It was rare for her mom to be as affectionate as she was being right now. She had built this layer of armor. It made it so hard to talk to her sometimes. Some days, she reminded Tooru of the moon or something. There would always be a part of her Tooru could never get to see. But times like this, even if it was only a glimpse, Tooru was weak to it. Feeling her arms around her made tears well up in Tooru’s eyes.

“I’m trying not to focus on it, momma. But I-I… I loved him so m-much.” Tooru sobbed.

“I know.” 

“Like how could h-he? How dare he?”

“I know.”

“We… I wanted to… I wanted to  _ m-marry him.”  _

“You did.” Her mother agrees. 

“It makes me wonder what I did wrong? Like. What did I do?” Tooru asked, her face resting on her mother’s chest, tears dripping on her Calvin Klein sweater.

“I know. You did absolutely nothing wrong.” She firmly states, gripping Tooru tighter in her arms. “Absolutely nothing.”

They sit like this for a while. Tooru’s tears dry up and her mom tells her some embarrassing stories about her father. Some Tooru has heard before and some are slightly new. Some of the numbers have changed and they differ from when Tooru’s mother had told her before but Tooru doesn’t bother to correct her. Tooru could hear the joy in her voice as she spoke fondly of Tooru's father. It makes her smile too.

“And then there was a naked guy in my dorm! He was pissed drunk and waiting for me. Your dad was furious!” Tooru’s mom laughs, her eyes looking down at her daughter fondly. “He threw the naked guy on his shoulder and left him outside in front of the boy’s dorm.”

“It was grosser than it was funny. I felt all his junk on my shoulder.” Tooru’s dad says from behind her, loosening the neck of his tie as he stepped into the living room.. His arms circle around the two women, his head between theirs as he kisses their cheeks. “How are my two favorites girls?”

“Baba!” Tooru says, turning on the sofa and lunging over it to wrap her arms around him.

“Hey! Get your feet off my sofa, girl!” Tooru’s mother chastised.

“Oh stop picking on my child, Yuki.” Tooru’s father squeezes her tightly, lifting Tooru off the floor a bit before setting her down.

“How ya doing, king?” Her father asks, his voice gentle and soft. He was always like this with Tooru. Attentive, tender with Tooru.  _ King.  _ It was an annoying nickname, given to her because of her tenacity in volleyball but coming from her father was one of her favorites (not that she’d admit that out loud, _hmph_ ). 

“Still hurts.” Tooru says lamely, shrugging one shoulder. 

“It’s supposed to hurt a little bit. Means you care. But it won’t hurt for long. You’re a strong one.” Her father says simply, ruffling her hair and Tooru groans. 

“Baba!” Tooru grumbles, punching her father in the gut. 

“Tooru! Don’t hit him that hard!” Her mother reprimands. 

“Ah, what did I say about messing with my little girl? She ain’t hitting too hard.” Her father says 

“Fine. Since she’s  _ your  _ girl, y’all can make dinner.”

Tooru’s father groans but her mother cuts her eyes to him and he straightens up, grumbling as he kicks his shoes off and heads to the kitchen. 

Tooru smiles, skipping into the kitchen after him


	4. in which the rabbit confronts and gets confronted… twice

It was Friday and Tooru finds herself in front of the place she ran out crying in nothing but a thin coat and red lingerie a week and a half ago.

_ Wow. What a time to be alive,  _ Tooru thought to herself. 

Tooru was going back to get the last few things out of Joey’s place but also to sit and talk to him, to end it between them properly and cut ties in person. Kyoutani felt she didn’t need to, showing to the very long, graphic and  _ threatening  _ message she sent Joey.

The place in front of her was her home for almost three years. Now she couldn’t even look at it without cringing a bit.

Tooru still had a key. As she walked up the stairs, she couldn’t help but think about the first time she walked up here. Tooru was beyond excited, rushing up and while Joey chased after her. Tooru remembers jumping on the king bed and Joey coming to tackle her, kissing her as she giggled into the plush sheets. Tooru remembers Joey trying to cook for her and almost burning up the whole house. Tooru remembers the housewarming party they had. Tooru didn’t really know anyone being that the majority were Joey’s friends and it was so weird for her but Joey was so happy. To see his family and old friends so Tooru was happy too. 

Now Tooru was walking up here with a heavy stomach and her mouth tasting like battery acid. 

Because it was Friday, Tooru knew Joey didn’t work. He never worked Friday. When Tooru got to the door, she looked at the magnets of different places they’d visited together. Paris, Beijing, Italy. They rented out the top half of the duplex. Which was crazy because it felt like a house all on it’s own with three bedrooms and two baths. The couple below was an older pair who’ve literally been on vacation  _ since  _ they moved in.

Five minutes later, standing outside, Tooru took in a deep breath. This was her house too just as much as it was his. Sure he payed for all of it but Tooru cooked and cleaned and decorated the fuck out of it. If anything, she should have  _ him  _ leave. 

Tooru raised the key to its slot, pushing it in and turning it. When she walked in, it was silent. Tooru turned down the hall and the bedroom they shared was open. Tooru decided to get all of her stuff ready before she went to look for Joey. Most of the clothes she took out on days she was wondering, so late of it was light stuff. Tooru had brought a garbage bag and began filling it with all of her belongings. There wasn’t too much now to carry. Tooru had been coming on days she knew Joey worked to slowly move her things out. She was sure the man had taken notice of the slowly emptying closet amongst other things

Tooru cleaned and finished putting the last of her stuff together when there was a bang on the door. Tooru jerks, turning quickly to the noise.

“Ru?” Joey asked. He was dripping wet, his hair curled from the water. The navy blue towel was wrapped around his waist and hung loosely. Before, Tooru would probably give him bedroom eyes.

Now, Tooru wanted nothing more than to wrap that towel tightly around his neck.

He lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I thought something happened-”

“I bet you thought something happened to Kyoutani when she ignored your calls too, right?” Tooru asked sweetly. It came out of her mouth before she could even stop it. It was like word vomit. She wanted it to be a civilized conversation but her tone suggested otherwise. 

He  _ almost  _ slipped. Tooru saw the slight panic in his eyes till he composed himself, tilted his head in confusion. “Who? Who are you talking about?” 

Tooru groaned, slapping a hand over her eyes. “Don’t do this Joey. Do dig a deeper hole for yourself right now. I already met her. We talked. I’m  _ staying  _ at her place right now. Don’t do this.” Tooru’s fist clenched. Joey always did this. Even though there are literally  _ TWO  _ people living here, if he eats the last of Tooru’s snacks, doesn’t put the cap on the toothpaste, doesn’t refill the toilet paper, he’ll deny it. It’s a pet peeve that at first Tooru found cute then annoying really fast. But Tooru just dealt with it and decided just who he was. 

Now seeing him do this made Tooru’s blood boil.

Joey’s shoulders slump and I know he’s admitted defeat. “Ru”

“Not Ru. Not Tooru. It’s Oikawa to you.” Tooru interrupts, a fire burning in her gut.

“-It’s not what you think…” He trails off. 

“You’re out of options here Joey. Two years you’ve been with that girl. You didn’t let her meet your parents. You didn’t bring her around your friends. She was a secret because of me! But you brought her to all your parties because she looked good by your side. And you kept me at home and only brought me out because I looked like a good, little wife. How messed up is that?”

“Well because you didn’t want to be flexible!” Joey yelled back. “You didn’t like to go out. You looked good for my parents but you didn’t like to go out-”

“Joey! Are you really using that as a justification for  _ cheating?  _ You acted like I couldn’t have got over that! I used to go to frat parties  _ with  _ you! Do I look like a nun to you?!” Tooru asked.

“Might as well be.” He mumbled. 

Tooru rolls her eyes, throwing a few more things into her bag. “For someone who got caught cheating for over two years, you don’t look like you’re seeking redemption.” Tooru chuckled darkly, with a whole lot of malice. “It’s good for me though. Makes all of this  _ a looooot  _ easier.” Once Tooru got everything, she looked back at him. “We’re done just so you know. And Kyoutani sends her worst regards. She said your penis wasn’t that great either. I have to agree.”

Joey gets red with anger as Tooru passes him by. “What am I gonna tell my parents?” He mutters. 

“No worries, Joey! My mom has already taken care of that. My mom is…” Tooru looks down at her watch, “currently having a fabulous lunch with your mother and father as we speak. I didn’t want to put you in such an awkward position and my mother offered. How sweet of her, right?” Tooru says in a cheery voice, her eyes low and teeth gleaming as she delivered a harsh smile

_ Who knew heartbreak would make me such a mean person? _

“Come on Ru, we can fix this.” He pleads. 

“It’s Oikawa. And it’s been broken since days after our 2nd anniversary you decide to have s-”

“It was an accident!” He claims. 

“Oh? I’m  _ sorry _ .” Tooru says, clearing her throat. “Since you decide to accidentally fall into someone else’s _ vagina.”  _ Tooru spat. “You know what Joey? It’s one thing for you to cheat. Yeah, it’s another thing to lie and keep lying. That hurts even more.” Tooru shakes her head at him. “So you know what? Stop being a little bitch and take responsibility. Until then…  _ fuck you Joey!” _ Tooru yelled, her face heating up. Not only was she pissed, but she hasn't cussed since she was about ten years old and her mom took off her slipper and chucked it at her head. The word felt weird on her tongue. Joey looked shocked by her choice of words well. 

Before he responded, Tooru spun on her heel and ran out, stomping down the stairs, her eyes stinging as she walked. Before she could stop herself, she bumps into someone, stumbling back at the force.

“Walk where ya fucking going, kid.” The guy grumbles as he walks past.

“Yeah? Well… well fuck you too!” Tooru shouts, huffing as she does. Tooru walks to her car, noticing he stops for a bit before going on his walk. She puffed out her chest, smiling proudly as she drove back to Kyoutani’s place.

##  **-$-**

There is drug dealing going on in front of Kyoutani’s place.

Tooru has seen something like this go down before. It’s nothing strange. It’s just Tooru always was able to walk around it. But now she has to walk through it . Dealers don’t care after sunset. Once the streetlights turn on, they come out. Usually Tooru could go by silently. This time… with the rustling of her grocery bags, they’ll notice her for sure. She was exceptionally worried right now because there are cases were girls are going missing and get sold through drug exchange. And she was not the one.

_ Just walk fast, head down. You got this.  _

##  **-$-**

Tooru doesn’t got this.

The minute she opened the door, she could see through her peripheral one of the guys nudging the other to look at her. One of them had mentioned a gun and Tooru, like a goddamn idiot, dropped her keys in shock, squeaking a bit too loud. As she stood to walk away, she could hear one of them say, “Let me get this.” And she began to pick up the pace.

“Okay, fudge the elevator,  _ way  _ too slow.” She mumbles to herself. “Stairs, you got this. Pass the laundry room.” She fakes a right turn and heads up the stairs on the left. Her plan was to go all the way to the fifth floor while he searched for second and third. They are sets of stairs on each end. She’d just walk the length of the fifth floor and by the time he headed upstairs, Tooru would walk down to fourth. We’d be on opposite ends and he’d never see her. 

The only problem was that she didn’t know how slow or fast she should walk. He could be walking and find me on the third floor or she could speed and he’d hear her get to the second floor door.  _ Shoot. _

_ Take the chance. Speed up.  _

So Tooru did. As quietly as she could, she raced over to the stairs that took her floor two, praying he was on the other end heading upstairs. She casually pushed the door open, not wanting to bring any attention to herself. Tooru nearly sang when she saw that no one was there. She took a deep breath, walking towards 406.

As soon as she set her bags down, Tooru heard a soft click behind her and she went still. 

“Ya a smart girl aren’t ya, sweetie? I don’t like that. I like my girls with big tits and small brains.” The cool barrel of the gun pressed into the back of her thin coat and she couldn’t help but shiver. Fudge.  _ How did he get here so fast? How did he even know to get to the fourth floor? _ By the heaviness of his breathing, Tooru can tell he ran the whole time. He must’ve hid out down one of the halls. Dammit. 

“Sorry to disappoint.” Tooru says between gritted teeth. “I’m a B cup at best. A C on my good days so-” Tooru spoke lightly. 

“I didn’t fucking ask you that did I?” Tooru was still bent over, her hands still in the grocery bags as she felt his hand on her butt over her coat. Tooru jumps a bit and he laughs loudly. “Nice ass, small tits.” He nicknames her

Tooru huffs. “Okay, they’re not big but you  _ don’t  _ have to call me small tits-”

“For somebody with a fucking gun to her head you sure are fucking talkative. Shut up-”

“But you were talking to me so I-“

He pulls the safety off, the rim touches the back of her neck. “ _ Shut it, small tits. _ ”

Tooru gulps.

His hands dig into her coat pocket, talking the lanyard with the spare key Kyoutani gave to Tooru. “Now. I want you to turn around and show me your hands. You’re gonna get in front of me and walk quietly down stairs okay?” He says from above her. Then he smirks. “And we could definitely get a collar on ya by the end of the night.”

With the whole kidnapping, trading of what is usually young women 18 and above, they were marked with collars around their necks. To an unknowing eye, it might look normal, like a fashion trend or something. Tooru didn’t know the details but apparently they came in different colors, each one for a different meaning. The brunette shuttered at the thought.

“Time to go. Get up.” When he raises his weight off her, Tooru remains in her spot. He grunts from behind Tooru. “What small tits? You want me to smack your ass again or-?”

Tooru then spins around quickly. While she was looking down, she was digging quietly for the most solid thing in her bags. She closed her eyes and swung her arms, his left cheek coming in contact with a seven pound cylinder of frozen beef. Bloody oozes from his forehead wound and he hisses, stumbling backwards. Tooru doesn’t give him time to regain composure, swinging the club of meat again, this time to the back of his head. Tooru watches as his eyes go back and he falls to his knees, both the key and gun falling out of his hands.

Tooru groans, his eyes wide as she stares at the man. Tooru pokes him with her boot covered foot and he doesn’t move an inch. She bends over, hands on her knees and sighs loudly.

“Uh, Oikawa?” Tooru snaps her head up, hair flying in her face as she looks back at Kyoutani’s bewildered and amused face. Tooru must’ve been a sight to see: her joggers, hair everywhere. bent over a large, unconscious drug dealer with a beef block in her hand. 

Kyoutani leans against the walls, arms over her chests and chuckles. “What exactly happened here? You know, if I knew grocery would be this much trouble I woulda just done it myself.”

Tooru narrows her eyes at her and throws the club of meat at Kyoutani, which she caught easily. “Shut up and help me.”

.

.

##  **Hajime**

“Yeah Boss I found out where she lives. Well at least for the time being. Seems to me like she’s staying with some blonde haired chick.” Issei tells Hajime from over the phone. He can hear him chewing on something, most likely  _ Hook’s  _ fries. Instead of curling his lips in disgust and scowling the younger for it, Hajime nods, folding the rest of the paperwork into the drawer.

“Issei, I told you to stop calling me boss. And we should also get some info on the blonde headed chick, find out what her current living condition is. Ain’t it strange that she just let Oikawa come and live with her? And she just left her apartment of three years?” Hajime questions. For anyone that interacts with his family and himself, Hajime looks into their files and has them under his radar for two weeks. Being the kind of man he was, protection and security mean everything to Hajime. He continues filing and stops once he realizes Issei didn’t respond back. “Doesn’t she live alone? Did Kunimi tell-”

“There’s a sale going out in front of where she stays, Boss. And one of the guys just followed Oikawa in.”

Hajime sits up in his chair, jaw clenched. “What do they look like? Who are they with?”

“A couple of lowlifes I’m sure. They both came on foot and ain’t got no car with their crew. They probably don’t plan to take anybody but looks like they wouldn’t mind it either. Maybe Oikawa overheard something she wasn’t supposed to. She looked really nervous.”

Hajime pursed his lips, flicking the pen in his left hand. “I’ll let you handle it then since these are small fries. Don’t be hasty. If he’s not back out in less than ten, go in and help her. And if he comes out with her, finish both of them.” He mutters a  _ ciao  _ before he hangs up the phone and sighs.

The rats that have been allowed in this city truly disgust Hajime. And the good-for-nothing politicians who were letting Tokyo fall to ruin.  _ Nothing but money hungry bastards, if you ask me _ , he thinks. And of course they’d let sellers come here if they—government officials, officers— could get their hands on the money too.

Hajime smirks, leaning back in his chair. But as long the Iwaizumi clan is here they’ll have no way of turning the city into a sanctuary for their bullshit. Since the rise of both drug and human trafficking, there have also been many gangs and mafias that are more open to the public. There’s less hiding in the shadows. Now instead of government against crews, there are politicians and officials in the game as well. Police and political figures are always on the same side, with police getting in on the money, getting rewarded by keeping quiet and not jailing anybody. And some cartel and mafia groups decide to link up with them as well. At this point  _ Cosca  _ and a few other groups are some of the only honest, truthful gangs left. It’s hard to know who you can trust nowadays.

The ringing of Hajime’s phone cuts him off from his thoughts. He rolls his eyes and picks it up. “What Issei? It’s only been five or so minutes!”

“Uh, boss?” I think you’ll wanna see this.”

##  **-$-**

As Hajime walks behind Issei towards the side of the building, Hajime throws the rest of his cig to the ground, spitting on the concrete. “This better be fucking good Issei.”

“Yeah, I told the other guy I think I saw his friend head out back running. He tried to pick a fight with me but I mean…” Issei spins around, his hands up and smiling, “look at these guns! He didn’t stand a chance!”

“Issei…” Hajime sighs exasperatedly, pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose. “Turn around before I-”

“I know you’re smiling! I can see it between your hands!”

“No I’m not. I’m gonna shoot you, Issei.”

A groan in the middle of the alley stopped their bickering.

A large rolled up carpet began to unravel itself, revealing a bald and beat up man in black. He had an open wound on the side of his forehead, along with purple bruising at the back. His hands were duct taped together, as was his mouth. 

“That’s the guy who followed Oikawa in.” Issei whispered to his senpai.

The man brings his bound hands up to his mouth, attempting to rip off the black tape. As Hajime begins to walk over, he looks upwards, seeing a window slightly open. It doesn't look like it would be able to fit this large man inside however. 

“Fucking bitch.” He mumbles after he manages to get the tape off his mouth. “She better fucking-“

Hajime grips both sides of the man’s shirt, pulling him off his ass and slamming him into the wall. “What the fuck is the big id-?“ as soon as he looks at Hajime, his mouth falls open. 

“Iwaizumi-san! I-I’m surprised to see ya in a p-place like-“

“What have I told you and your boys bout selling round here? Didn’t think I’d catch you? And you out here tryna take girls or sum?” Hajime’s clenched fist presses harder into his chest.

“Yo I’m sorry if that was ya girl-“

“You’re avoiding my question.” He interupts, eyes hard and the man swallows loudly.

“N-Nah I wasn’t tryna take her or nothing! She looked like a snitch so I thought to set her straight that’s all! She clearly works for somebody though-!“

“What makes you say that?” Hajime asked. 

“Well look at m-me! She may be little but she looks like she can fight a bit. She wrapped me up like it was nothing. I-I was out cold for a couple minutes.” 

He’s right. No normal person would have a reaction like this. She might have been tall but she was thin, was barely  _ half  _ Hajime’s weight while this guy was easily over two hundred pounds. Yet she thought to fight back?

Hajime thought back to the look he gave him, the clear sharpness of her eyes, like she was  _ better. _

Hajime chuckled to him, dusting off his clothes as he dropped the man by his collar.

Nothing would have prepared him when it clicked to him who the girl he was running a background check on twenty years later was Oikawa Tooru, the crybaby little girl he met in primary school. Back then, her hair was long, she had a gap in her bottom row of teeth and clung to him like a small child. But at the same time, she was smart, a thrill seeker and believed in alien

_ Who is Oikawa Tooru, really? _

“Serves you right. And you’re lucky. We woulda done much more damage. Now leave before I put a bullet in you. And my boys will be round here so next time they'll give you a proper greeting if you’d like?” Hajime asked as he playfully dusted off the man’s shirt. The other man shakes like a leaf in front of him, nodding at the both of them before jogging off. 

“Now what boss?” Issei asked, stubbing the cigarette bud against the alley wall. Hajime pulls out the gun tucked in the back of his pants and turns the safety off, shooting right next to Issei’s foot. 

“Call me boss again and I’ll shoot your toe off.” Issei jumps away from, laughing as if unfazed and Hajime rolls his eyes. “Idiot.”

“I’m going to buy a little visit to Oikawa-san.” Hajime says, smirking to himself as he cracked his knuckles. Maybe his business approach was too blunt for Oikawa. He thinks she’d appreciate a smoother notion

.

.

##  **Tooru**

“I’m so beat! That’s my little exercise for the week!” Kyoutani whines as she slumps in the chair, sighing in relief. 

“Thank you so much Kyoutani, sorry to put you in the kind of situation.” Tooru apologizes, feeling awkward about what went down. There was a period, when her brother and Tooru were much younger and their family was poor. We lived in a small apartment in the red light district of Tokyo and this was the kind of thing Tooru saw everyday. It was so frequent that it didn’t really faze her anymore. But it’s something she never wanted to go back to or make anyone go through. 

Kyoutani smiles though, looking at Tooru with no anger or fear whatsoever. “It’s all good! I wanted to get rid of that ugly carpet my dad sent me anyway.” She fake gags and Tooru chuckles. Her eyes land on the gun however and her worry brews again. 

“And what will I do with you?” Tooru mumbles to herself. She knew a couple things about guns. It was your standard 39 millimeter handgun. Black and loaded with narrow bullets. Better for closer distance shooting and fairly quick to reload. Tooru learned details like that from her father but he never tried to get her involved with weapons. 

Kyoutani snakes her hand around Tooru’s shoulder. “I do have one question though: did you know that guy at all?”

“Nope! I just happened to witness them selling and they didn’t like that. Probably thought I should called the cops but I really like messy with them-”

“Well I’ll be taking this then! Outta your fucking hands!” She takes it from Tooru, jumping back and holding it up into the light.

“Wha-? But why?” Tooru asked. “You know, or like, guns?”

She looked again and Tooru subconsciously flinched. The look in her eyes was dull, even with the slight smile she had. “Yeah I know a thing or two.” She said casually before lifting the barrel to her lips, kissing it gently. 

“Thanks for the early Christmas present!” And just like that she bounced back to her blunt and bright mood and made her way to her room. 

“October just started!” Tooru called out. 

“Like I fucking care!” She responds back and brunette sighs. 

“Such a weird girl.” Tooru shakes her head and before she could make it to the kitchen there was a knock on the door. 

Tooru looks through the peephole, only for whoever to be at the door to be too close to see. All she saw was black. Tooru unlocked the door, revealing Issei standing with a charming smile on his face. 

“Hey Oikawa.” He said, passing by her and letting himself in. “Nice place ya got here.” He said, looking around at the pink, dazzling mini chandeliers. 

“Thank you, thank you I did it all by myself. The space really gets my artist juices flowing. And other juices flowing…” Kyoutani says Tooru gasp in shock at her words like  _ what the fuck Kyoutani  _ while Issei looks with wide eyes. 

“Kyoutani, he didn’t even need to  _ know  _ that.” Tooru said, going to close the door behind her but a foot steps over the threshold. 

“Won’t let me in with ya?” Hajime mutters, sliding past the door and locking it behind him. He, just like Issei, looks around before walking in. 

“Oh yes, Matsu-chan and Iwa-chan, please come on in. Make yourselves at home. Not like you weren’t invited in or anything.” Tooru said sarcastically. 

“Such great hospitality.” Issei smiles and Tooru smiles back forcefully before rolling her eyes. 

“What are you guys doing here anyway? If your here to give me that money I’ll have to decline -“

“Hey, hey” Kyoutani interrupts, flying over to where Tooru is standing in front of the couch both guys were sitting on. She leans in near Tooru’s ear. “What’s this talk about money now? What did you even do to these guys for them to be trying to give you money?” She looked away from Tooru to the two of them, eyes narrowed in thought. Then, She gasps, the look in her eyes as if she figured it out. Snapping her fingers before letting them run down the front of Tooru’s blouse, she says, “Oh  _ Tooru.  _ You naughty girl.”

If Tooru’s eyes weren’t already wide, they were definitely bugging out of her head now. “What?  _ What?” _

“If you’re done,” Hajime said, clearing his throat, “I’m not here to give you any money and unfortunately,” he said this while looking at Kyoutani, “it wasn’t for any sexual favors.” He paused staring at her with his hands locked together. 

Kyoutani sighs, almost as if she’s disappointed and Tooru is still stuck on the fact that he said  _ unfortunately.  _

“Do I know you from somewhere? What’s your name?” Hajime suddenly asked.

“No you don’t, fuck off” She says bluntly. but Hajime still holds his hard gaze on her. “Kentarou Kyoutani. Does that ring any bells?”

Hajime shakes his head. “Well then. I’m here because there has been some drug activity going on in this area. We’re here to check it out.” 

For a moment, they two girls both still, their hesitation so natural. But then Tooru nods, pretending to understand. 

“Y’all want some tea or coffee?” Tooru asked, already heading to the kitchen before they answered. 

“Coffee with three creams and sugar!” Issei yelled out while Hajime asked for black.

_ Of course he drinks it black.  _

“Well what’s that got to do with the two of us? And how do you know where Tooru lives? Seems like a problem you should take up with the management of this place instead of individual residents right?”

Tooru hadn’t even thought of that. It was strange that she had just thrown a man rolled up in a carpet out a second story window and suddenly these two are here, following up, coming to our door. 

That’s weird no matter how you look at it.

“I  _ own  _ this place. I  _ am  _ management.” Hajime said with a smug attitude and Tooru rolls his eyes as she strains the coffee and begins to boil the tea. 

“Still don’t get why you're  _ here.  _ There’s two general managers. And they would have sent us a letter with  _ a 24 _ hour notice.” Tooru brings up. Kyoutani makes a noise of agreement. 

”Ditto.” Kyoutani says, raising up her hands when Hajime’s eyes harden. You can search the place if you want but no drugs here. Well… at least not bad ones. You may find a blunt or-“ 

“Kyoutani!” Tooru yells from the kitchen and she crackled in return.

“Well, we caught a guy who says Oikawa was there during a trade-“

“Can’t be. She was getting groceries. We’re having Alfredo for dinner. Good wife, isn’t she?” Tooru could  _ kiss _ (and kick) Kyoutani right with how willing she was to defend Tooru , even when she didn’t ask. Tooru was surprised and amazed by her ability to think on her feet so quietly.

“And that she reacted by fighting back-“ Hajime continues.

“My darling Tooru? She much too sweet and delicate to-“ Kyoutani says tightly but kept the two of pitch sweet.

“And stole his gun.” 

Tooru slammed the cups down the counter in fear and surprise, silencing the room. Fudge, Tooru didn’t think they’d  _ find  _ the stupid guy. He was out cold and rolled up in the trash. And that he’d  _ snitch  _ on her too. Oh God. 

“Hey you! Issei was it? You haven’t said anything this  _ whole  _ time. Now I’m thinking you were really here to see my art collection. Come, come! I draw a bunch of shit like flowers and flowers that look like vaginas and…” Kyoutani’s ranting and Issei’s protesting voice fade down the hall as they go towards her small art room. Tooru continues to absentmindedly stir Issei’s tea with sugar as the couch squeaks. Tooru jumps a bit in surprise. 

“Iwa-chan.” Tooru greets. 

Hajime comes, running his hand over the white counter. “Still calling me that shitty nickname, huh?”

Tooru gasps. “So you do remember! You sure weren’t acting like it when we first met.” Tooru says with a huff.

“I had… some things to jog my memory.” Hajime says vaguely. “Now, I’m not trying to start trouble. I just gotta know what you know. This is serious-“ he starts gently, tone trying to be calm to negotiate

“And I  _ seriously  _ don’t know what you’re talking about. Really Hajime. What exactly do you want me to admit to?”

“The fact that some guy threatened you, over two hundred pounds mind you, yet you managed to knock him out. Then you rolled him up on a carpet and threw him out a two story window like he was a bag of feathers. Admit to that and then it’ll be all better.”

Tooru forces out a laugh, hoping it’s believable. “You think I did all that? With what weapon? Look at me Mr. Hajime. I might be tall but I’m barely over one seventy. It sucks if you don’t have any leads or whatever but are you really gonna blame this on me?”

Tooru leans her back against the counter, taking the tea meant for Issei and bringing it to her lips as she looks up at him in question. 

“I guess you're right.” He said, sounding a little irritated that he was wrong.  _ Well technically not wrong but Tooru won’t admit it.  _

She offers him his cup, the dark liquid cool enough to drink now. “Peace?” She mutters, her face heating up, feeling a little jittery. Now that he wasn’t trying to accuse Tooru for attempted murder, she could focus on the face of the ultra fine man in the kitchen with her. He had a beige color turtleneck on with a black trench coat. Tooru could see his Rolex slightly picking out on his left wrist. Usually your watch falls on your dominant hand.  _ Right handed,  _ she thought to herself. Just like she remembered. And man, he must have  _ moneyyyy.  _

He lifts the cup to his mouth after taking it, drinking down three gulps. He stares down after a moment. “This is really good.” 

“Right?” Tooru said, moving to look through the cabinets. “It’s some dark roast I got for free at my favorite coffee shop. It’s like you buy ten cups and get a bag for your choice for free. It’s that-“

“What happened to this carpet?” Hajime suddenly asked. 

Tooru paused, then spun around on her feet to look at him. His foot was over the spot where Kyoutani’s multi-colored blue rug once was. You can tell something used to be there by how the border darkened the hardwood. It was faint but there. 

“Well, uh. Kyoutani had a pretty hideous carpet there before and we just so happened to throw out-“

“Where?”

“Too big to fit in our trash-“

“So where?”

“Trash a lot about two blocks down.”

“What color?”

“Beig- poop brown. Really gross. You would have hated it.” Tooru said, shaking her head. 

Hajime is suddenly back in front of her. Each hand slams beside her sides, trapping her in. 

“You think this is a joke? That  _ I’m  _ a joke? I take my job very seriously Oikawa-san and it would do you wonders to be honest with me.” He said slowly, an accent coming out as he spoke. His eyes darkened up tremendously and Tooru shamefully pressed her legs together, feeling tightness in her core.

“I think it’s interesting how dedicated the big shot owner of this building is that he would go and inspect each of every apartment for drugs. And then  _ threatened me.  _ What exactly  _ is  _ your job, Hajime?” Tooru says tersely, eyes narrowing at the shorter man. Although not by much, it made Tooru feel good that he had to look up at her. 

“I do not have prove to that I owe this place-”

“By the way you dress, I’d don’t doubt that you-”

“Well I can’t say the same for you.” Hajime shot back.

“You doubt me?” Tooru says with a light smile, trying not to falter. “I am telling you the truth, Iwaizumi-san.” Tooru said but without a lot of heart. 

“If I find out anything,  _ anything  _ that has me back at this door, I won’t be as friendly.” 

“Threatening an old friend, Iwa-chan? I thought our reunion would be a lot sweeter and heartfelt.” Tooru whines. Hajime does respond, getting his shoes on.

“Do you hear me, Oikawa-san?” He asked as he stood and neared her, his mouth near her ear. She shivers and before she knew it, she was gripping his arms tightly. The tone in his voice made her feel as though Tooru was agreeing to something completely different from this conversation.

“Yes I do.” She mumbles. She leans backs, looking down at his face. He was so handsome and broad and smells so good-

Tooru yelped, covering her mouth with her hands, Tooru’s face heating up in embarrassment.  _ Oh my gosh what am I thinking? What am I doing?  _

Hajime looked her over, smirking as if he knew what she was freaking out about. He leands in to blow hot air against the lobe of her ear and Tooru jumps back, sputtering. 

“Thanks for the coffee… Trashyawa” He says, fixing his coat before yelling for Issei. Tooru was stuck, frozen and looking at his back. He is even perfect from the back. 

_ Trashyawa?  _ Tooru thought lamely. He wants to use that as a nickname?

Issei comes running out just then, his hair disheveled and lips pink and swollen. Kyoutani comes out after slowly, wiping her bra around her finger. “Call me later, won’t ya Matsu-chan?” She slurred out, smiling knowingly. 

Before he could sputter out a response, blush on his cheeks, Hajime grabbed him by the back of his collar and forcibly dragged him out the door, slamming it loudly. 

Kyoutani laughed aloud, heading over to Tooru and laughed at the face she was making, “You had a…  _ rough  _ time too or you going into shock? I can’t tell.”

Tooru couldn’t either. 


End file.
